Infinite

"Atti, Ryan is here!" Ronnie shouted as he came through the door of our apartment.

I looked up from where I sat with Arch and grinned as the duo came through the door. "I can see that," I answered as I hopped up and wrapped my arms around the drummer's torso. "Hey, Ryan, who's this?" Right behind him stood a beautiful, dark haired woman.

She grabbed onto Ryan's arm and smiled at me. "I'm Jennifer," she introduced warmly, "We're just friends." She spared another looked at Ryan as he rolled his eyes. She shook her head and stepped past.

"Yeah," he agreed slightly sarcastically, "Jenn and I are just friends."

I smiled and nodded. "Just friends is cool," I stated, "I tried to be 'just friends' with Ronnie but he wouldn't go for it."

Ronnie scoffed behind me. He was already plopped down on the couch next to Arch, who was starting at Jenn with his eyebrows raised. "Ryan knows how it works," Ronnie muttered, "See a beautiful woman, meet beautiful woman, date beautiful woman."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Jenn and Ryan. "Come on in," I said openly. We stepped back over to the couch and I dropped down on Ronnie's other side. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and the other across the little boy's. "Jenn, this is Arch," he introduced as she and Ryan sat next to each other.

Jenn's eyes widened. "He's yours?" she asked, surprised.

"Just a good friend of ours," I denied. Ronnie nodded in agreement and rustled Arch's hair, causing the boy to lean into his side.

Jenn smiled. "I didn't think so," she murmured, "You two aren't old enough to have a boy this big." She reached her hand out to Arch and shook his little one, telling him that it was nice to meet him.

Arch pushed himself closer. "Are you Ryan's girlfriend?" he asked simply, not embarrassed in the least by the fact that they'd already tried to deny it.

Jenn chuckled and glanced to Ryan, who answered for her. "Don't worry about it, Arch. We'll let you know if she becomes my girl, alright?" he promised reassuringly.

Arch nodded to Ryan but then turned his attention back to Jenn. "Do you want to be his girlfriend?" he asked.

Instead of stopping the boy, Ronnie just grinned and crossed his arms. He was waiting for the answer too, putting Jenn on the spot as Ryan's eyes widened and he stayed speechless.

Since I figured I was the only one who could, or would, do anything about the child's prying, I intervened, leaning over Ronnie's lap to face the little boy. I rested my hand on his leg to get his attention and said, "Arch, why don't you go in the bedroom and I'll be in to put a movie in for you, okay?"

Arch sputtered, eyebrows furrowed, mouth parted. "But I'm talking to Jenn."

"Arch," I stopped him, "Pick out a movie and go in the bedroom. I'll be there in a couple minutes to put it in for you, sweetheart."

Arch groaned and clambered off the couch to the TV stand. He looked at the movies that were lined up there and it didn't take long for him to pick one. He plucked it from the row and stomped around the coffee table and couch. "This isn't fair," he said.

"Night, Kiddo," Ronnie called. He copied the action as Arch stuck his tongue out that him before he disappeared into our bedroom unhappily.

I smacked Ronnie's arm and stood up. "I'm sorry about him putting you on the spot," I apologized to Jenn, "He's just looking out for Ryan." I patted the drummer's shoulder as I moved past them in the same direction Arch had marched off in.

"It's okay." Jenn shrugged. "He's a little kid, I understand."

"Okay, good," I sighed in relief, "He's a handful sometimes."

"Do you have him a lot?" Jenn asked Ronnie as I walked into our bedroom, leaving the sounds of their conversation behind me as I closed the door.

Arch was stretched out on the large bed, staring at the blank TV that hung on the wall above our dresser. I sighed and climbed on next to him, stretched out on my stomach, just like him, with my arm wrapped around his back.

"Sorry, Little Man," I murmured, "But those are big people questions."

Arch pressed his mouth against our blanket and mumbled his answer. "You banished me."

I bit my lip to stop the laughter from bubbling out of my throat. I nodded. "I'm sorry."

Arch turned to look at me, his cheek pressed against the comforter. His blue eyes stared into my brown ones and then he nodded. "It's okay," he whispered, "I'm sorry I was bothering Jennifer."

I shook my head. "I'm sure you weren't," I promised, "But it's getting kind of late and I thought you might rather watch your movie in here."

Arch sighed and dropped his chin back down to the bed. "I guess," he grumbled.

I smiled. "Well, how about we get in our jammies and get comfy?" I asked, heading towards the closet. We kept a small decorated box of Arch's pajamas in the closet for him, along with a few shirts and pants that I picked up for him when I felt like it.

Arch sat up and I pulled out the container and set it on the bed. I reached in and grabbed his pants and t-shirt. He was already pulling off his shirt and the fresh one on as I headed back to the closet to grab my own sleep-wear.

"I'll be right back," I said as I grabbed the clothing and left to the bathroom. I changed into a pair of shorts and a baggy shirt that once belonged to Ronnie. I pulled my hair back and tied it up on top of my head, strands escaping only to frame my face.

I walked back into the bedroom and tossed my clothes to the bottom of the closet along with the box of Arch's things. Arch sat on the bed and looked expectantly at the blank TV. I chuckled and grabbed the DVD from him. He knew he wasn't allowed to touch Ronnie's XBox, so I put it in for him and handed him the remote, knowing he'd easily hit play when the time came.

"I'm going to talk to Jenn," I said to Arch.

"Okay," he murmured, his eyes already trained on the screen.

I leaned in and pressed my lips against his forehead. "Just come get one of us if you need us," I encouraged, "We'll be right in the living room."

"Okay," he repeated.

I chuckled and shook my head. I walked out into the living room and wrapped my arms around Ronnie's neck from behind, leaning against the back of the couch. Ronnie grabbed my fingers and slid his between them. I kissed his neck and then smiled at Ryan, who was speaking.

"Nasty is having some kind of get together," he said, continuing, "He wanted to know if you and Atti wanted to come tomorrow."

Ronnie looked up at me. "What do you think?"

I shook my head. "I've got work, Babe."

Ronnie rolled his eyes in aggravation. "Come on, you haven't seen Nasty since we got back in town."

"I'm sure he can survive without me, Ronnie."

Ronnie gave me a flat look. "This is Nason we're talking about, Atticus, that man lives to see you. If I hadn't asked you out, he would've swept you out from under me."

I narrowed my eyes. "You don't seem very worried about that," I replied.

Ronnie shrugged. "You were mine from the start."

Both Ryan and Jenn laughed and I sent the woman a knowing look. "I told you that the 'just friends' thing didn't fly with Ronnie."

Jenn simply shrugged. "Yeah," she murmured, "But you two are cute together. It would be a shame if he didn't convince you."

Ronnie kissed my arm and I murmured, "Oh, he definitely convinced me, alright."